30 Years Later, A 10/10 PS1 Masterpiece Is Free Now On PlayStation Plus

If you’re a PlayStation Plus user, odds are you’re always hunting for the next game to try. Given PlayStation’s long history (not quite as long as Nintendo’s, but no one can compete in that regard), there are plenty of classic games, alongside all the new Game Pass-adjacentAAA titles.

It’s tough to get through them all, especially since the Game Catalog has been growing significantly in the past few years, bolstered by the addition of retro games dating back to the original PlayStation, and beyond. You could feasibly spend more time looking for the next game to play than actually playing some of them.

For this particular PSN entry, though, you’ll want to try it as soon as possible if you haven’t already. It’s a classic for a reason.

30 Years Later, This Horror Classic Holds Up

If you’re a PlayStation Plus Premium subscriber or above, you can play Resident Evil Director’s Cut on the PS4 and PS5, and we highly suggest that you do so.

Even if you’ve already played the Resident Evil remake (which is available on multiple modern platforms, and isn’t relegated to legacy systems like a few other games in the series), I recommend that you give the OG Director’s Cut a shot, too. This version of the Director’s Cut also features up-rendering, a rewind feature, quick-save, and custom video filters.

While the original game came out in 1996, the Director’s Cut arrived a year later, and it essentially serves as a “GOTY” edition of Resident Evil. Item and enemy layouts in the Spencer Mansion were remixed, but the original version was also preserved, along with an easier optional difficulty setting.

It’s one of the de facto ways to play the first Resident Evil game, as it preserves the original experience while offering some useful quality-of-life features.

Resident Evil Changed Gaming Forever

Custom image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

The premise seems so simple now: “The Raccoon City Police Department investigation into a series of bizarre murders takes a turn when the force’s elite S.T.A.R.S. team is stranded in a house of horrors deep within the Arklay Mountains. Explore a derelict mansion teeming with vicious beasts, deadly traps, and untold mystery. Will you manage to survive?”

But even though a few other horror games were released before it (including Sweet Home), it wasn’t until Resident Evil that horror really came to the masses. Similar to how Halo and GoldenEye 64 birthed a generation of first-person-shooter fans, Resident Evil created decades-long horror enthusiasts.

The reason is simple: Resident Evil not only nailed that survival-horror vibe, but also inspired Capcom and others to replicate it indefinitely. It was also a great game full of interesting moments, like when the dogs jumped through a window and smashed in unsuspectingly. So many people talked about that moment because it was unlike anything else at the time.

There are plenty of people who have never played a Resident Evil game beyond the first entry, and I get it. Even if you’re not typically big on the horror genre, it has an undeniable pull through master-crafted segments and memorable enemy designs. If you haven’t played it yet, you can’t go wrong with the original or the remake.

Systems

Released

March 22, 1996

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Violence

Engine

RE Engine

Number of Players

1